The apricot pálinka capital — Art Nouveau architecture on the Hungarian Great Plain, Zoltán Kodály's birthplace, and the finest stone-fruit brandy in Central Europe
Kecskemét sits at the geographical heart of Hungary, in the centre of the Puszta (the Hungarian Great Plain) between the Danube and Tisza rivers — a substantial city of 110,000 people with a surprising density of Art Nouveau and Historicist architecture in its pedestrianised main square and surrounding streets. The city is nationally famous for one product above all others: barack pálinka — apricot brandy distilled from the Kecskemét apricot orchards that cover the sandy flatlands for kilometres around the city. The local Kecskemét-barack variety, grown in sandy soil that no other crop tolera…
Kecskemét was a significant market town from the Middle Ages, profiting from its position at the junction of two major trade routes. It escaped relatively lightly from the Turkish occupation (1541–1686) by paying tribute to both the Ottomans and the Habsburgs simultaneously — a pragmatic neutrality that earned it the nickname 'the Cunning City.' The sandy flatlands around the city, too poor for grain or cattle, were found to be ideal for apricot orchards in the 18th century; by the 19th century the Kecskemét apricot (Magyar kajszibarack) was the basis of a significant pálinka industry. The Ar…